CHAPTER XIX 



THE BOSE INSTITUTE 



WE have given in Bose's own words the ideals that animated 

 him in the foundations of his Institute, and his inaugural 

 address produced a profound impression not only in India 

 but also in the West. We may in this connection quote the 

 following passage from a leading article in The Times : 



When Sir Jagadis chose the teaching of Science as his vocation 

 a generation back, it was generally held that by its very con- 

 stitution the Indian mind would always turn away from the study 

 of Nature to metaphysical speculation. At that time, even 

 had the capacity for enquiry and accurate observation been 

 assumed, there were no opportunities for their employment ; 

 neither well-equipped laboratories nor skilled mechanicians 

 existed. Little or nothing had then been done to break the 

 almost exclusively literary mould into which higher Indian 

 education had been directed. To bringing abcut the scientific 

 renaissance Sir Jagadis has influentially contributed. Indians 

 are justly proud of the possession of a few men who have gained 

 world-wide reputation in their particular fields of activity, and 

 this pride reacts strongly on public opinion. At the Research 

 Institute a group of Indian post-graduate students devote their 

 lives to research. The published Transactions of the Institute 

 show that under the leadership of this eminent Bengali, Indian 

 research is making substantial contribution to scientific know- 

 ledge ; that in this field there is no fundamental difference 

 between the Western and the Eastern mind, as was assumed 

 when Sir Jagadis began his work. It may be, as one writer 

 said, that the bent of research and the colour of theories will 

 take something from the inherent qualities of the Indian mind ; 

 but the faith in ascertainable truths and the appeal to facts can 



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